Hi Point firearms?!

[Mr 9finger]

It's been awhile since I've been around, so if this kind of thing is still taboo.....

Anyway, I've never really been into guns much. I've shot with friends a little here and there. Owned a few Glocks over the years. Nothing really in depth. There's been a lot of riff raff going on in this area; cars and houses getting broke into etc.... Night before last at about 2am, I was sitting in the bedroom playing a game, and I heard our screen door open and the handle being jingled. I figured it was prob. one of my friends, so as I was heading through the living room, I hit the lights. As soon as the lights came on, whoever was at my door took off like a bolt of lightning! With all the stuff that has been going on around here, I made mind up right then to buy a gun the next day.

So yesterday I went to the nearest shop, and started looking around. I had about $550 in my pocket to spend, so my options were pretty open as far as selection. I got to looking around, and came across these decently priced guns called Hi Point. With the prices they had on them, I thought there was no way they could be very good. The shop owner and I got to talking. I told him what I needed one for, my budget, and he actually said the Hi Points were prob. the best for my needs. He got out the 9mm, 40 S&W, .45ACP, and a 380ACP.


Since my wife is a tiny little thing at 79lbs., I narrowed it down to the 9mm, and the 380. She hates guns, but I wanted something she would be able to handle if she absolutely had to. I talked to the owner a bit more, and ended up going with the 380. I got the gun, 2 extra clips, and 2 boxes of ammo for $220 out the door.

I called a buddy that lives out in the country, and we decided we were going to put it through it's paces last night. So I went back and picked up 2 more boxes of rounds. We put 175 rounds through it last night. It took around 5 clips to get the sights adjusted, after that, I was able to keep my hits within a 3" spread, and out of those rounds, it only jammed 3 times. I think those jammed rounds was because of the shells, not the gun itself. We marked each jammed shell w/ a sharpie and reloaded them, and they jammed the second time around as well.

For what I put into it, I'm extremely pleased with what I got. I have to say it def. surprised me. It's not the prettiest gun in the world, but it'll get the job done if I need to. The bad thing is, my buddies dad let me shoot his WW2 Springfield 1911 .45, now I'm hooked and I want one! That gun was just freaking awesome!

I'll post some pix of the Hi Point I bought when the camera batteries charge up!

[ImmortalSix]

I don't like the Hi Points, but like my buddy (who has one) says "it goes bang when I pull the trigger - what else do you expect?"

I am an outdoorsman, though, so I am not just using firearms at the range. Mine get in the dirt, the mud, the water, everything. Noth that I don't take care of them, but anybody who hunts can tell you --- **** happens.

I like the peace of mind that comes with a firearm that I know is well made and was intentionally designed with resistance to environmental effects in mind.

If I've been in the woods all morning and sitting in mud and leaves, I just would never want the feeling, if I ever needed to fire the gun for some reason, that "oh ****, this Saturday night special might not fire."

But hell, if you are just using it for range fun and home protection, I'd say buy high quality cartridges and rock on!

[80's_Metal]

500 bucks can get you into an XD!
From what I have read/heard/felt with those hipoints... they go bang most of the time.
Never been my thing or brand, I'd look into an XD or even a glock.... Smith and Wesson, heck even a Ruger has better value than that hipoint....
My humble 2 cents worth.

[grumptruck]

You don't want a self defense pistol that has the potiental to fire "most" of the time.

Stick to the black plastic blends.

100 percent Austrian Glock
Croatian light roast Ex-Dee

I see what I did there.

[grumptruck]

Ruger makes pretty dependable revolvers... however I don't recommend a revolver as your primary Home Defense weapon.

[lex666]

Congrats on the Hi Point. I don't have any experience with the Hi Point, they're not exactly my flavor either.

I would recommend that you fire at least 500 rounds of practice ammo to break in the gun.

Then, go shopping for some self defense ammo. Purchase several boxes of .380 hollow point ammo from different manufacturers. Take 'em all to the range and shoot. The one that yields the best accuracy and absolutely no jams or failures is the one for you. Some guns, espescially self loading autos are picky about ammo. Its best to find out which ammo your gun doesn't like on the range rather than in a self defense situation. Some guns are picky. Some guns perform differently depending on the ammo. Find one that your HiPoint likes and you will have an even more reliable gun.

[grumptruck]

I am not dissing your purchase btw.

IF you can make the thing fire reliable then she is a keeper... There are tons of weapons that need tender loving care and people can properly be trained with them.

Welcome to the right wing good sir.

[lex666]

Oh, one more bit of advice if i may...

Take the wife to the range and teach her how to shoot. There is a BIG mis-conception that people will "rise" to the occasion and suddenly know how to use and operate a gun under duress. You're kidding yourself. Under physical attack or in a life threatening situation should not be the first time anyone fires a gun.

Practice and practice often. Most of all, be safe.

[threechordcharlie]

Just a thought: Did you clean the gun before firing it? I bet a good cleaning will resolve any jamming issues. Now when you say "jammed" was it stove piping at the ejection port, or was it jamming at the ammo feed section? Any gun that is reliable and can be used with ease is a good protection gun in my opinion. You are gonna run into "gun snobs", but just because someone has a sense of frugality doesn't mandate that they have no right to protect themselves. My Grandpa fed and protected the family for years with a Sears & Roebuck single shot 12g shotgun.

[Gearjoneser]

Why'd you ask us after you bought it?

I almost lost my life to one, when a friend racked the slide with his finger off the trigger, and it fired a bullet right over my head! The plastic trigger hadn't come back into position, so when the slide shut, the firing pin slipped forward.

Get used to clearing jams. It'll probably happen once every magazine.

[bungalowbill]

Unless you want to keep a gun cocked and locked go for a revolver.

Jumping out of a sound sleep and trying to rack the slide on an autoloader is a lot to ask for a novice....a S&W model 10 in .38 will take care of most problems.

[lex666]

Unless you want to keep a gun cocked and locked go for a revolver.

Jumping out of a sound sleep and trying to rack the slide on an autoloader is a lot to ask for a novice....a S&W model 10 in .38 will take care of most problems.

You can keep an auto loader chamber loaded. It makes no difference from a revolver if you stick to rule # 2: Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to go bang.

Rule # 1 is, never point it at anything you do not intend to destroy.

I will agree tho, a revolver is potentially more reilable as there are fewer moving parts and the ability for a 2nd shot if you encounter a failure.

[Mr 9finger]

I don't know much about hand guns at the moment. I'm still learning. I do know a few people that know their way around them. So far, the only negative comments I've heard on Hi Points are from here.

Joe, I'm not bagging on you by any means. I know you know your way around guitar gear, and have a nice collection of hand guns, and I respect your opinion on both. I have to ask though, why in the hell would you have you be anywhere near in front of a weapon that has live shells in it?

Through the advice of some friends, and has been mentioned on here as well, I went back to the shop today and picked up 400 rounds of different kinds of shells. I'm going to clean it tonight, and probably take it out tomorrow. I also picked up some real targets.

As for the "jams" I had yesterday. I don't know the difference between the difference types of jamming. They were easy to clear out, just pulled the slide back and the round fell out. To me, it seemed as if the round didn't feed up from the clip properly. I still think that was the round itself, and not the gun.

In any regard, call them cheap, starter pistol, whatever...I'm hooked! I will definitely be adding more to the stable! This will do until I can get something else as long it is properly taken care of. As for the people that don't overly care for the Hi Point models, I did put money down on a Glock 21. I looked at several .45's today, and that one fit my hand the best. I would have liked to look at the Springfield XD's, but this shop doesn't carry them.

[exnihilo]

How did it jam, exactly; describe the details.

For a first gun, and at cheap price, to put holes in paper and have in the night stand until you "upgrade", it will be fine. If you want a good laugh, I own a Bryco in .380. We all gota start some where bro.

My SW 40VE is a cheaper gun also. The damned thing's NEVER jammed. It's a work horse, and for $249 with 2 extra mags it's well worth it. Check em' out.

cg

[donahue]

Good Job Dude, Pistols Rock!


I recently bought my first pistol. It's a Navy Arms 1858 Remington New Army replica black powder revolver. I love it. Its was only $155.00 used, and is extremely cheap to shoot. A tried and true design. Plus it makes me feel like a cowboy which is fun

[bungalowbill]

You can keep an auto loader chamber loaded. It makes no difference from a revolver if you stick to rule # 2: Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to go bang.

Rule # 1 is, never point it at anything you do not intend to destroy.

I will agree tho, a revolver is potentially more reilable as there are fewer moving parts and the ability for a 2nd shot if you encounter a failure.

That is true..no safety to fumble with on a revolver....fewer decisions in a crisis the better.

I kept a single action Ruger as my go to and I didn't feel under-gunned....45 long Colt works.

[Mr 9finger]

All 3 of them occurred mid clip the first go round. I was squeezing them off, then click...nothing. When I pulled the slide back, the round was in there off center, like it didn't feed out of the clip correctly. None of them were lodged or stuck. I just pulled the slide back to open the chamber all the way, and they rolled right out. My buddies dad told me to mark the clips so we could tell them apart, and marked each round that "jammed" so we could identify them for a second go round.

The jammed rounds got moved over to the other clip, and all 3 of them jammed the 2nd time around. We chalked it up to being something with rounds and set them off to the side. We'll see what happens with the other brands I picked up. I got some Winchester, Remington, Blazer, and Lawman. 2 boxes of each. They're all about the same price. The hollow points are freaking expensive, but I'm not worried about picking any of those up yet.

[lex666]

All 3 of them occurred mid clip the first go round. I was squeezing them off, then click...nothing. When I pulled the slide back, the round was in there off center, like it didn't feed out of the clip correctly. None of them were lodged or stuck. I just pulled the slide back to open the chamber all the way, and they rolled right out. My buddies dad told me to mark the clips so we could tell them apart, and marked each round that "jammed" so we could identify them for a second go round.

The jammed rounds got moved over to the other clip, and all 3 of them jammed the 2nd time around. We chalked it up to being something with rounds and set them off to the side. We'll see what happens with the other brands I picked up. I got some Winchester, Remington, Blazer, and Lawman. 2 boxes of each. They're all about the same price. The hollow points are freaking expensive, but I'm not worried about picking any of those up yet.

Sounds like a failure to load/feed. Clean the gun and feed ramp thoroghly. Disassemble both mags and clean and lube thoroughly. Re-test, make a note if a specific brand of ammo causes failures.. I wouldn't be that concerned about failures during the break in period. Its after the break in period where I would be concerned about its reliability. But like I said, guns chambered in .380 are particular about what they're being fed.

[Aceman]

Ok - here comes the lecture. Go get a drink and maybe some chips or something. Gonna be here a while.

Here are some "philosophical issues" to consider.
#1 A weapon for self/home defense (SD/HD) is a serious issue. Sit down with yourself and have a little discussion about how you are going to feel about killing someone. A serious discussion - not the "I'm pissed those jerks tried to break into MY place" sort of talk. The "OK - dead body, no weapon, might have just been going to rob me" talk. Have this discussion with the wife also.

#2 Understand - the cost of the gun is NOTHING - 500-1500 dollars. Before you should even vaguely consider using this thing for this activity you need to cost out about 5000 rounds of practice ammo, range time, cleaning gear etc...You need to be capable. And honestly, 5k rounds of practice is kinda low. This does not include practicing for "failures" like jams etc...So buy a reliable gun.

#3 The best gun overall for effective in home deterrence needs to be #! RELIABLE. If it jams ever, or is finicky in anyway - I WOULD NOT TRUST MY LIFE WITH IT. Would you drive a car with brakes that didn't work ever 100-200 stops? No. If you have the gun out it must be 100% All the time every time. Because if it's not that ONE time...Yes - some guns are just a bit particular with some ammo. (that takes some money to test by the way - 100 rounds of each of a given brand $$$$ But preferably a cool 500 to 1000 rounds of your chosen ammo)

It also has to be powerful enough to STOP whatever action is being taken by he threat of the moment. Now - I'm not going to get into the "Anything works if you hit the target" because that's the trick under high stress - just hitting the target will be tough enough. So when it hits - it had better work pretty well. rule of thumb - nothing less than 9mm.

However - the best STOPPER overall is 12g buckshot. 9 .32 caliber pellets all at once. Bonus - the accuracy factor is high because it is a long gun - not a pistol, and the accuracy factor is relaxed because 3-5 of those little bad guys (if not all), are likely to hit something/somewhere important. Shotguns are very reliable also. Bonus - excellent Remmington 870 - Mossberg 500 for ~$300. Just a comment.

Remember this also. Any bullet with sufficient oomph to stop a bad guy will go through a wall (or two or three) and still kill someone on the other side. Do you KNOW which walls you can't shoot at in the dark? Power out / line cut? what then???

Any HD gun should have a VERY reliable and bright light attached. Not a mag light.

#4 Anyone preparing to deal with home defense needs a plan. The best plan is find a safe room with a cell phone, call 911 and hunker down. Bedroom locked / bathroom locked is generally a great combo. Somewhere they have to go through a bottleneck to get to you.

Then you have to actually practice the plan.

Better than even dealing with these issues is have an alarm, motion lights, a barking dog and good locks! Do whatever you can do to make it so you don't need the gun. Move if necessary/possible. If you say "I have to have he gun and expect to need it" it is time to move.

#5 The wife had better get to like guns and be as well trained in using them as you. If she is afraid/doesn't like them/won't practice - don't get her one. And by the way...that's another 5k rounds for her. And if she doesn't like a round big enough to STOP - tough. See point #1. We are here to STOP an intruder intent on causing harm by shooting, which will most often KILL them. Anything other than the right mental attitude and practice will get her or you killed.

So - what do I think of High Point? I'm not going to say there are not budget weapons that will work. But it had better meet the above criteria regardless of cost. Bersa Thunder for example...however, some can still be a bit too finicky for my taste (Finicky = not reliable enough to keep me ALIVE). And remember - a gun dealer will have a $50 gun that is the 'most' reliable for the money you have. There are some serious High Point fans. It's a minority IMO. Like I said - if it works it works. But if it doesn't...

I think you made a pretty bold decision on the fly. I like the XD or a used Glock. Better yet a shotgun with low-recoil buck shot for indoor use. But, for 200, well, you get what you pay for. Hope it works in an emergency when someone is trying to KILL you. a couple of hundred more could have got you a lot more gun - or what you spent a good SG.

Just some thoughts. It's your gun now.

[Aceman]

Oh - one last thing. Call them "mags."